Modern Archaeology - Artists Proof. 4x4 test of the modern archaeology project. I collected over 1,000 beer bottle tops from London Fields in autumn 2018. I scoured the entire park as a modern archaeology / art experiment. A series of processes ensued. Arduous tasks of excising the soil with found tools; sticks & nails, screws (which i kept along with the odd find of interesting small round items, coins, etc ) washing each top thoroughly and drying them out, sometimes twice. Arranging and exploring layout.
From brand new to very old and rusty, with 100's of brands representing the consumption habits of people over time. Interesting in it's self.. any guesses as to what were the most popular? I had quite a few conversations along the way with park goers and even got a bit of help from one of the park rangers.
Over the course of a weeks collecting I had many ideas about this found art project. Layers, time, transience, each top a moment in time, someone's party, day out, bbq, date; each monent slowly disintegrating into the soil.
Recycling, waste, repurposing, reclamation, conservation.. the aesthetics of the uniform shape in myriad logos & plain colours, all with a story to tell.
The layers of archaeology interest me as each top becomes skeletal and loses identity over time. Some are so old they become embedded in the earth. I promised Tom McCutcheon a test piece for his input and interest in what I was doing. Today I finished it and presented it to him. Fittingly on a bench in London Fields where some of the tops came from.
I will produce a series of works using the tops I collected in various sizes, 12x12 / 12x24 etc. I'm hoping to source suitably deep reclaimed frames, locally. Any frame donations considered. Part of an ongoing series of found art pieces.
I'm also looking for a place to exhibit. If you know any beer aficionado gallery owners / brewery PR people - put me in touch #archaeology#lager#cider ##contemporaryarchaeology#beer#conceptualart#found#hackney#londonfields#corona#budweiser#stellaartois#kopparberg#desperados#heineken#guiness#becks#brewdog#camdentownbrewery#gooseisland#etc (too many to list)